Policy recommends setting up of district, state level telecom panels to redress grievances
Violation of EMF standards will attract heavy penalties on service providers and may also lead to shutdown of TCS or BS, if the violation persists.
The state’s cellphone tower policy, notified March 4, has recommended the setting up of district and state level telecom committees to effectively address grievances with eminent persons as its members. This has been a long-pending demand of the citizens and was part of the advisory guidelines issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) last year.
These committees will include officers from the state administration and Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) cells, as well as representatives of concerned telecom service providers and will look at issues related to installation of telecommunication cell site or base station (TCS OR BS) and telecom infrastructure.
It also permits setting up of telecommunication cell site or base station in lands designated as open spaces or recreational open spaces or recreational grounds in a sanctioned layout, subject to no-objection certificates by the concerned registered cooperative housing society or consent of 70 per cent of the total number of legal occupants or plot holders of such a layout. This will also be subject to the condition that the maximum permissible area for installation will not be more than five per cent of such area or 100 square metre, and it will be located in the corner of such an area.
Further, making DoT or TERM cells the sole authority for ensuring compliance with electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation levels, the policy says it will be “binding on telecom service providers to follow the mechanism prescribed by DoT or TERM cell at local level for ensuring control on the EMF radiation and for notifying on continual basis the radiation level at critical locations”.
Violation of EMF standards will attract heavy penalties on service providers and may also lead to shutdown of TCS or BS, if the violation persists. While granting permission for TCS or BS, it will be stipulated that the service provider will conduct regular audits in accordance with directions issued by DoT or TERM cell.
“The TERM cell will carry out test audits of the base transceiver station (BTS) sites on random basis as per the guidelines issued by DoT and also in respect of all cases where there is a public complaint. The TERM cell will also verify antenna orientation, safe distances from the tower, etc.,” says the policy.
Prakash Munshi, on behalf of citizen groups of Mumbai, has sent a letter to the Urban Development Department, raising certain objections.
“They have mentioned notarised consent of the owner of premises, which shall mean and include consent of the owner of property or no-objection certificate of the concerned registered cooperative housing society or notarised consent of 70 per cent of the total number of legal occupants in case of apartments or condominium or no-objection certificate of the lessor in case of a lease-hold property before installing of antennae or renewing of contract. By mentioning ‘or’, they are giving a gateway to the industry and it is imperative to plug this loophole,” said Munshi.
mihika.basu@expressindia.com
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